To Err is Human
by iiMaddHats
Summary: You are on of the head designers of the RK800 and when you here it's going to be decommissioned, you make a move to keep at least on of the models in tact. Slow burn, Connor x Reader, take place after bad ending
1. Chapter 1

Ok so I have not written anything since 2013, but DBH really got me going. I do not own anything but the OC's mentioned. I appreciate any feedback!

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"You can't just decommission the entire product line," you snapped your head of research. Bill Stanerford was a portly man with kind eyes, and-up until this point-you thought he had your best interests in mind.

"I wasn't planning on shutting the whole thing down, but the development of the RK900 was rushed along due to the success of _your_ prototype," Bill tried to explain, his overly active body language starting to get on your nerves.

You scoffed. "The RK800 was never intended to be just a prototype. It was supposed to be integrated all across the U.S, it was you who pushed it into just Detroit with deviant programming."

"You know full well that was not my decision!" he smacked his hand down onto his desk. "You have the template for the most advanced Android that CyberLife has ever come up with and while you were field testing it, another development team worked on its successor due to how well it performed." He squeezed the bridge of his nose, moving his thick rimmed glasses up and down. "This is how things work here."

You opened your mouth to protest but were silenced by his open hand, so instead settled for a sour look on your face. "We are always working towards the future and that does not slow down because your Android, that stopped the uprising in Detroit, didn't get the mass production that you were hoping."

There was a moment of silence as you were unsure if you were allowed to speak yet, when Bill didn't say anything you took a deep breath and added, "The RK900 was constructed without my knowledge all the while using my design. It wasn't my team that did it. My design was handed off to another team without my permission. That isn't some kind of violation here?"

Bill went back to pinching his nose bridge. "You know that it's not. All designs all property of CyberLife, not the individual."

"So there's nothing I can do?"

"We can try and file a complaint with HR to see if we can get your name on the patent for the RK900 because it is based on your design but that would be it," Bill heavily sat down into the desk chair.

You shook your head. "I guess I'll try. There is just so much red tape...," you ran a hand through your hair, "When are the 800's scheduled for decommission?"

Bill wheeled the chair closer to his terminal and began scrolling thought what you assumed was a schedule. "The last Connor field model is set to return to CyberLife tonight and the remaining models will be recycled starting tomorrow."

You sucked in a breath through your teeth, "CyberLife is that desperate to trash the old model huh?" you stood up and gave your blouse a quick tug, straightening it into its proper position and began to leave to office, adding over your shoulder, "Thanks for the heads up, Bill."

You stepped out of the office, closing the white door behind you. Taking a shaky breath, you resisted the urge to punch the glass wall of the offices. You had given how many years of your life to this company? How much blood, sweat and tears into making this perfect detective? Only to have it all ripped away in an instant. Cyberlife had screwed you over in the past but nothing like this. You felt the pinpricks of tears start to form as you started to dart back through the pristine halls to your office. You avoided looking at a few of your coworkers who were glancing your way and dove into your office, locking the door behind you.

Sucking in a breath you slammed your hand into the desk, causing everything on it to wobble. "Damn it..." you cursed. You struck the desk again. "Damn it! They can't fucking do this to me!" you swept your arms over your desk knocking blueprints, pens and photographs onto the floor. You grasped the scream of your terminal ready to throw that to the floor. You lifted it up before you dropped it back to the surface and flopped into your chair, pressing your fists into your eye sockets.

You grit your teeth together so hard that it hurt and slowly regained your composition. Breathe in, breathe out. Fuck 'em. Breathe again. You glanced slowly at the clock on your terminal. Nearly six. If the last model was arriving tonight, it would be here soon. You ran a hand over your face, trying to compose yourself. You may not be able to stop the destruction of your product line, but at least you could see it through to the end of it's tragically short run. Cursing CyberLife once more, you called down to the front desk.

"Thank you for calling CyberLife, this is Annie, how may I direct your call?" a bubbly voice answered on the other line.

Tapping the end of a pen on what was left of your desk, you gave your name, "I'm the head designer of the RK800 and the last field model should be arriving tonight. Could you please inform me when it does?"

"Of course Ma'am, call you back at this number?"

You agreed and tapped your pen harder against the table. Wait. That's the only thing you could do. Wait until you magnum opus walked through the doors to be destroyed. After everything the RK800 did, after how it had stopped the entire deviant uprising single handedly, they were ready to throw it away like hot garbage. CyberLife had screwed you over for the last time. Taking everything from you and spitting it back in your face in the form of the RK900. You ran a finger over your eyebrow to try and curb your stress.

You sat in the uncomfort desk chair for probably to long tap tap tapping that pen, your head in your other hand, racking your brain as to what to do. Write to HR was the most obvious course of action. And yet, you couldn't bring yourself to submit the report.

The desk phone let out an unpleasant ring that caused you to jolt in your desk chair. You fumbled with the phone a moment, "Hello?"

"Miss? This is Annie from the front desk, you asked me to inform you when the RK800 arrived?"

Hearing this immediately caused your heart to beat a bit faster. "It's here? Could you please have it wait at the desk? I'll be down in a moment." Wiping a hand down your face one last time, you exited your office to bid adieu to the RK800.

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Thx for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks so much for everyone that read! Here's chapter 2! I still dont own Connor, no matter how much I'd like to. Please R&R!

The foyer of the CyberLife Tower was nothing less than grandiose, vaulting ceilings with giant monitors constantly running the latest add for the most high tech androids on the market, and a bridge that arched across an indoor orchard of apple and peach trees. At the center stood a giant black obelisk like of a statue. It depicted what you assumed was mankind holding the knowledge of creation. You had always found it to be a rather arrogant piece of art. To think of themselves akin to a god, if they were all powerful that little glitch in the system that resulted revolution would have never occurred. If they were so omnipotent they could see that the RK800 is a cheaper to produce, equally effective model and wouldn't have thrown it in the bin.

You brushed past the display models that decorated the walkway to the front desk. Seated at the desk was an ST300 that you assumed was Annie from over the phone. In front of the desk stood the RK800, delicately bouncing a quarter between it's fingers. You frowned a bit, knowing that it was calibrating it's cognitive functions. Functions that you had helped design. Functions that were going to be torn apart in less than twenty four hours, all to be repurposed for the new model. Biting your cheek, you walked up to it, holding your chin high.

"Hello Connor," you greeted it with smile through gritted teeth.

It caught the coin in mid air, saying, "Hello. I'm sorry, but have we met before?"

"In a way," you motioned for it to follow you, which it did without question, "I am one of the designers that worked on the RK800 series. I wanted to see you off today before you were decommissioned."

"I see," it placed its arms behind its back, "I have never heard of the designers interacting with Androids that are going to be replaced."

The two of you entered the elevator, you ordered the elevator to take you to floor -37, "And how many androids have you known that were decommissioned?"

"... None personally," it looked a bit embarrassed, running its hands over one another, eyes darting away for a moment before returning forward. It always amazed you how much personality and emotion they could imitate, it was easy to see why some people had a hard time distinguishing them from the real thing. "May I ask, what part of my design did you oversee?"

"I oversaw you're coding and programing of executive functions. I also was the one receiving your reports while you were in the field. They were quite impressive," you spoke with a bit to much pride. You glanced at the elevator panel, realizing that you were nearing your destination. Quickly you punched a button and paused the lift. "Connor, may I tell you something. Off the record?"

It blinked a few times, tilting its head slightly to the side, "Of course."

"I don't want you to be decommissioned."

Shock was not something that Androids were supposed to be able to convey, but the expression that it has was nothing short of the sort. Brows drawn together, mouth slightly agape. The only thing that separated it from humans, at a glance, what the little blue -now yellow- light at it's temple. "I-I didn't know that a human would feel that way about replacing an old machine." You smiled and resume the lift, of course that's what it'd say. The elevator dinged, a mechanical click signaling the doors were about to open when Connor reached across you to the panel, pressing the close doors button, leaning in a little to close, "May I also say something. Off the record?"

Now it was your turned to be befuddled, but you nodded. It's LED changed from the spinning yellow to red for only a second.

"I don't me want to be decommissioned either."

Connor released the button, allowing the doors to slide open and stepped out, leaving you staring after it as it walked down the hallway as if nothing had happened. The elevator doors began to slide shut once again and you jammed your arm in between the, shoving your way through the door and darting after it on surprisingly wobbly legs.

"Connor wait!" you grabbed at the back of it's jacket as it turned around. "You don't want to be decommissioned. How... how do you... how can you _want_?" It stared back at you, eyes hard.

In a hushed voice you asked, "Are you deviant?" It didn't answer. You almost snapped the question again, but as afraid that someone might be listening, you drew yourself closer to it. Instead you slipped your keycard into its pocket. Connor glanced down as you backed away. Regaining your composure you said very carefully, "It's a shame that you are going to be destroyed. I would very much liked to continue this conversation." You stared right into its eyes. Then adding, "Command: 6217N- 63. Consider that an executive order."

Its temple spun red and its eyelids fluttered a moment. Connor patted the pocket of his jacket, glancing down and then back up, relief washing over its face, LED flickering between blue and yellow. You turned on your heel back to the elevator, heart threatening to pound out of your chest. Your legs still felt weak and you leaned against the back of the elevator for a moment. What had you just done? Given access to the whole of CyberLife to a deviant? All because of some selfish desire to preserve one highlight of your life? It was your fucking acess card too! If anything goes screwy it's all coming back on you. You cursed the RK series, you cursed CyberLife, but most of all, you cursed yourself. You ordered the elevator to return you to Research and Development.

Prime directive: get home. Maybe there you could actually work out a plan for everything you fucked up. Thankfully, it was well after eight and most of your colleagues had gone home, leaving the trek back to your office for your belongings mostly abandoned. You passed a few janitorial androids as you opened the door with a press of your palm. Grabbing your purse and personal cell phone, you darted back to the elevator and down to the street, avoiding contact with both humans and androids.

You shouldn't have been surprised that it was raining, this was Michigan after all, but it did nothing to help your mood or situation that you now found yourself in. It also resulted in you getting very, very wet as you waited for your taxi. Thankfully it hid the tears that had started to stream down your face. You sobbed silently as the rain found the gap between your neck and your jacket and ran down your back. You wiped fruitlessly at the combination of tears and rain water when the small black and yellow taxi upped up to the curb.

The ride back was a soggy one. Everything that happened today had been nothing short of a whirlwind. You had your whole career path destroyed, only to violate every rule known to CyberLife and possibly unleash a deviant in the heart of the manufacturing plant. All in the course of less than four hours. It had been irrational...stupid.

Your apartment was on the seventeenth floor of an up and coming high rise in the rivertown district and was decorated to your specifications. You stripped off your soaked clothes and tossed them onto the laundry room floor, replacing them with some of your warmer pajamas, hoping they would help with the shivering the rain had brought on.

Pouring yourself a glass of water, you wrapped yourself in a blanket and collapsed onto the couch. You could feel a wetness behind your eyes, but lacked the ability to cry any more. So, so, so stupid. Letting your head loll back over the back of the chair, you scanned the off white ceiling, eyelids sagging. Slowly, pushing the events of today to the back of your mind, you drifted off to a dreamless sleep.

 _Fuck_


	3. Chapter 3

Hey! Thanks to everyone who read this story and thanks for your continue support!

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You hadn't been asleep more than four hours when you awoken by banging on your apartment door. Groggily, you struggled into a sitting position and fumbled a glance at the clock on your phone. It wasn't even midnight. You squeezed a pillow over your ears praying whatever was pounding out there would just go away.

It didn't. Of course it didn't. And now it was calling your name. "It's me Connor! Are you there?"

How the hell had it found you? You stumbled to your feet, throwing the blanket onto the floor, "Shit..." your stomach growled, reminding you that you had simply collapsed onto the couch and forgotten to eat anything when you got home.

"Please, open the door, I have nowhere else to go!" its voice sounded more and more desperate.

You rubbed your eyes, swaying a bit. "Coming... Coming!" You swung the door open and the RK800 nearly ran you over shoving it's way into your apartment. "Connor what the fuck!" You turned on him only to realize why he was so desperate for you to open the door. "... What the fuck?"

The normally prim and proper suit was covered in streaky red and blue, mixing to become an ugly purple. A steady drip splashed from it's fingers to the carpet. It's face was mostly wiped clean from the rain, other than a wound across it's forehead that was oozing thirium. Across its face was a look of conflict and remorse, LED flashing red.

You probably should have called the cops, or even better CyberLife and saved yourself from the trouble you had gotten yourself into. "Are you alright?" You guided him into the kitchen, stripping his soaked jacket off and dropping it to the tile. You snatched up a dish towel and began to dab at its forehead.

The LED slowly faded to a rapidly spinning yellow. "I'm fine."

"Did anyone follow you?" it shook its head. You frowned. "Is anywhere other than your forehead damaged?" Connor glanced away again before slowly lifting the hem of its shirt, showing off three fresh bullet holes. It then lowered its waistband three inches revealing a rather nasty looking gash over its hip. Blue blood steadily leaked from the wounds down its body. "Shit." Connor was loosing blue blood to quick for your liking and the CyberLife stores didn't open until ten tomorrow. You knew how to treat basic wounds in humans, but in androids, you often had to replace parts and seal holes with plastic, none of which you had on hand.

Telling Connor to wait a moment, you darted into the bathroom and retrieved gauze and other first aid supplies before returning to the kitchen Connor, who was now sitting upright on the couch. It had removed its shirt completely and had wadded up and pressed it to the bullet holes. "I, uh, I don't have any android supplies, but I'll go to to the store tomorrow so we can get you fixed up," you tried to smile as you set down the supplies on the glass coffee table. "Did the bullets go straight through?"

"I do not detect any foreign objects in my lower abdominal area," it replied running a quick diagnostic. You eased the blue soaked shirt away from his side and placed a thick pad of gauze over the wounds. Using medical tape that you had swiped once from a hospital, you put four tight lines of tape over the dressing. "I can do that, I've been programed with-"

"I've got it Connor," you gave him a small smile, "Lean forward?" you then repeated the same procedure on its back. "I'm gonna need you to take your pants down a bit."

It nodded, "Of course." the RK800 pulled the waistband down again with one hand and you went to work. This is not how you expected to be spending your friday with a half naked, illegal android, but here you were. You patted his abdomen and stood up, snipping a piece of gauze down to half its size and using one finger, you tilted Connors head back a bit.

It stared up at you with those all too lifelike eyes, lips slightly apart at it watched you work. You brushed its hair back into place as you taped down the last bandage. You found your gaze lingering a bit longer than it should have, staring into that eternally youthful face.

"T-thank you, for helping me," Connor finally spoke up, and you ripped your eyes away nodding.

"Sadly we're not done," you wiped your thirium stained hands on your pajamas. "You still have your tracker." Connor's hand shot back the back of his head, approximately where the bit of technology lay. "Can you remove your skin for me- at least back there?" you asked walking around to the back of the couch.

He frowned, but did as you asked, and the skin receded to all too bright white plastic beneath the false exterior. You flicked on a few lights and fetched a flashlight and tools from under the sink. You didn't have android specific ones but you could probably makes these work. Connor had removed the back half of his head, making for a jarring transition from plastic to to skin. You pulled up a chair behind the couch and pressed up on a panel that rested at the nape of his neck. "You're very quiet."

"I'm sorry. I've never had anyone adjusting my biocomponents while I've been conscious," he replied, ringing his hands.

"Tell me if anything hurts okay?" you couldn't imagine what is must feel like to have a strangers fingers in the back of your skull.

"Androids don't feel pain," it said in reply.

You meticulously shifted through the wires and biocomponents, gripping the flashlight in your mouth. "Mmmm hmm," you grunted around the flashlight.

Connor let out a sudden gasp and you dropped the flashlight into your hand, "Are you okay?"

"F-fine, just -ah! Just hurry," it snapped out, something straining in its voice. You popped the flashlight back in your mouth and put your fingers back to work. You moved a few more wires before you found the cylindrical tube that was embedded into its skull.

You snatched up the smallest pair of pliers you had and gripped onto the tracker, "I got it. 'on't 'oove." you placed your other hand against the white plastic and Connors shoulders tensed up. "One, ooo... tree!" you yanked quick and hard. There was a pop and the tracker pulled free.

Connor leapet away like you had just blasted it with a shot of electricity. It stood frozen for a moment, limbs sticking out in all different directions, shoulders and chest visibly rising rapidly. You opened your mouth to speak when he turned around to face you, suddenly composed once again. "Thank you." it said curtly, "Let's never do that again."

You plucked the tracker off the floor with the pliers. The small tube was mostly blue with a white light on one end that was flashing. You waved it at him, "Fine with me, as long as we get rid of this."

"I'll take care of it," Connor offered, extending its palm. "You must be tired and we haven't even been able to continue our conversation from earlier." It have you a crooked smile.

"What are you going to do with it?"

"I was going to put it in a taxi, that way CyberLife won't be able to track it back to us," it explained. "It seemed like the safest course of action."

"I'd rather you didn't go outside right now, but good idea," still gripping it with the pliers, you dropped it into a ziploc bag. You quickly placed a page for a taxi. "I think there's some clothes in the hall closet that might work for you." Connor nodded and disappeared around the corner.

You took the elevator down to the first floor, pulling sixty dollars cash out of your bag. You could feel your exhaustion starting to catch up to you as you stood in the elevator. Ever since Connor had arrived, you had been running on adrenaline. You silently thanked that you had tomorrow off. Hopefully you would be able to decide what to do with this mess of your before you had to go back to work.

After shoving the tracker between the seats and sending the taxi as far as it would go, you returned inside, freshly soaked with rain. You almost stripped off your shirt and tossed it with your clothes from earlier until you remembered the android sitting on your couch. You knew it probably didn't care, but having another body in you apartment regardless if it was synthetic or organic still made you uncomfortable. Connor was sitting bolt up right on the couch, now dressed in a 'Knights of the Black Death' band shirt and grey sweatpants both of which were too large for it.

It glanced up, "I can find you a towel."

You brushed it off, "No, don't worry about it. I'm going to bed anyway. You can... Enter sleep mode or whatever. Just don't leave the apartment right now, okay?"

Connor nodded, "Sleep well. We shall continue our conversation from earlier tomorrow then?"

You smiled wearily, "Yeah. Sounds good."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 here we go! 2 chapters in one day!

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You woke up around nine the next morning, but not because of an alarm sounding off or birds chirping. No, you woke to a gentle pat on your cheek and someone calling your name. You groaned having been up far too late the previous night to be up now, but still opened your eyes.

"It's me Connor," the android stared down at you, a line of blue blood running from under the bandage onto its chin. You groaned rolling over, facing the other side of the bed. You heard footsteps and a warm hand gently shook your shoulder. "I'm sorry to wake you, but the closest Cyberlife store opens in less than an hour and I am still leaking thirium." you grabbed one of your pillows and smack it in the chest as hard as you could. Connor brushed the pillow to the side as if it was hardly there. "I would have gone myself but you instructed me not to leave the apartment. I agree with your decision to keep me here, but unless I stop these leaks soon I will start to shut down biocomponents."

You shoved yourself up onto your elbows, shooting daggers at it. Connor was still loosing blue blood as he had said. Down its face and clothes were fresh stains of blue and who knows how much was on the couch. "Are you feeling alright?" you swing your legs over to the side of the bed, stretching upward.

"I performed several diagnostics this morning and all of my biocomponents are operating at seventy six percent on average. Nothing has been seriously damaged, but without proper repairs in a timely manner, I will have to shut down some of my less critical systems," Connor informed you.

You stood up, attempting to side step around Connor and nearly losing your balance in the process. You wobbled for a moment before it caught you around the waist. "T-thanks."

"No problem."

You moved past him and picked out several of what you considered less conspicuous cloths. A grey sweater and dark pants and a jacket to match. "Let me take a shower and I'll head there, okay robo-boy?" Out of the corner of your eye, you saw it tilt its head slightly to the side, processing what you had said.

Your shower was a quick but much needed relief after the previous night. Breaking out a discontinued android, being responsible for the deaths of coworkers, and now keeping said android in your home felt like it hadn't happened to you. It was as if it were like a dream. You dried your hair and pulled your clothes on, shaking the last remnants of sleep from your body.

You grabbed your purse, walking past Connor without a second glance.

"I would suggest eating something before you leave," the android piped up from the couch.

"I'll grab something on the way, don't concern yourself," you replied before closing the door behind you.

The taxi ride to the CyberLife store was nothing short of dull. You gazed out the window watching the rain race across the glass, your cheek resting on one hand, the other drumming the leather next to you. You counted yourself lucky that CyberLife hadn't sent some hitman to your apartment in search of the RK800, but maybe you had somehow gotten away with your hastily thrown together caper. Maybe Connor had been way more discreet than you had assumed. Or maybe CyberLife was just toying with you and was going to demolish you the next time set foot in the building.

You were lost in thought when the taxi slowed to a halt in front of the outdoor mall. Hopping out into the drizzle, you ran as fast as you could to the nearest ATM and withdraw two hundred in cash. You shivered and stuffed the money into your purse. You were about to head to the CyberLife store but as you passed a coffee stand you paused.

You really should eat something. You hadn't had anything since yesterday around three and you had promised Connor. Groaning, you entered the shop.

Once you had a breakfast sandwich and coffee in hand you resumed you mission. For a Saturday, you were surprised that the mall was rather slow. Must be the weather. None the less you were thankful for less faces. The CyberLife store was one of the busier places with about ten or so customers perusing the androids.

You snatched up four bottles of Thirium 310 and two cans of Patchwork Sealant. Keeping your head directed away from the camera, you paid the service bot, wishing you could use your employee discount but also not wanting to have this traced back to you more than it already was. With one last stop and a men's clothing shop, you were on got way back home.

You half expected that hit man from your thoughts earlier to be holding Connor up at gunpoint when you arrived home. Instead it sat on your couch where you had left it, its eyes closed in a peaceful sleep mode. Androids were designed to be beautiful, but when Connor was resting, he seemed younger. You weren't sure how to describe it but it made you smile a bit to see him so comfortable in your home.

Gently running your thumb over its cheek, it roused it from its sleep mode. "I got the thirium and a few other things."

Connor resumed its posture of sitting up so straight that it looked uncomfortable, "Did you get something to eat?"

You snorted, dropping the shopping bags onto the coffee table. "Is the deviant-hunting android seriously concerned for my well being?" you plopped onto the couch next to it.

"Of course, as the human who stopped my decommissioning, I would find it regrettable if something happened to you," it explained.

You snatched one of the cans of sealant out of the bags and gave it a good shake. It wouldn't fix any internal damage but it would at least stop the leak. "How much Thirium have you lost now?" you asked, wiping the blue streak off its face.

"About thirty percent," it replied, "I have stopped any unnecessary movement and replaced the bandages to try and prevent any further loss."

You nodded, "Wanna get patched up?" you lifted its shirt and gave the can one last shake before removing the stained blue bandage. "Can you remove your skin for me?" around the holes, the flesh color retreated to be replaced with the pale white and grey. Against the white, the wound stood out even more. Using another piece of gauze you dabbed away the excess blue blood before spraying it with the sealant. Spritzing in short bursts, you covered the holes and gently blew on the aerosol plastic to get it to set.

Without proper repairs at a shop, the skin sealant would never match perfectly and the skin would appear a bit raised, but it was better than perpetually leaking. Moving onto its back you asked, "Your purpose is to hunt deviants, but now that you are not with CyberLife won't that be difficult?"

Connor rested its head in its hands as you worked. "Once I feel that we have successfully gotten away from CyberLife I plan to continue my mission."

You grunted in agreement and rolled him onto his back. You knelt at the side of the couch, fixing up his hip. "How did you get out of there anyway?"

"After I was processed to be destroyed, I waited until most the employees left the building and went out an emergency exit. Your key card was quite helpful," Connor's eyes followed your movements, watching closely. "I can do that if you want."

You began blowing in the plastic, "It's my fault this happened to you. If I'd just let things be you'd-"

"Have been recycled?"

You started up into those chocolate eyes. "Yeah. That." you moved up to his forehead, repeating the process. "When I asked you if you were deviant, you didn't give me an answer."

Connor became very quiet, the LED at its temple flickering from spinning yellow to red. "I'm not a deviant."

"Then how did you... if you're not a deviant how could you express any desires outside of your base programming?" you questioned.

"Self preservation is part of my programing. If my production line was destroyed, I would not be carried over into another model," it reasoned, the LED returning to a spinning blue.

You scrunched your face, doubting its logic but dropped the issue. "Well that should do it." you stood up, handing Connor one of the bottles of Thirium. "If you need more I'll go back tomorrow."

Its addams apple bobbed as it swallowed the blue liquid down. "This should be plenty, thank you."

"When you're done you should take a shower or something. Get all that blood off." Connor nodded in response as you went to work on the blood that it had tracked in last night. Using hydrogen peroxide and an old rag, you scrubbed at the stains. The Thirium had evaporated, leaving dark brown spots in place of the purple from last night.

Who had this belonged to? Stacey from marketing? Or maybe Raoul who was in the office next to you. Or one of those other employees who you had never known their names whose life had been snuffed out because of your irrational actions.

"Thank you for putting your life on the line for me," Connor spoke from behind you, making you jump. You suddenly noticed a few tears forming up. Crying again. Wiping them away, you stood up. "I haven't said that yet and I apologize for inconveniencing you."

You shook your head, "Stop thanking me, I didn't do it to help you... just...go get cleaned up. There's some clothes over there that should work better."

Connor looked like it wanted to say something, mouth slightly agape, brows knitted together, instead it nodded and left you alone. You flopped onto the couch and flipped through the television, welcoming the moment to turn off your brain.


	5. Chapter 5

Hey! Thanks to everyone who is enjoying this! Double chapter today! Please R&R its what keeps me alive!

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You had nothing to do with the designing of the physical appearance of androids. You were more focused on the mechanics and coding of them. You knew how to take one apart and put it back together from the ground up, but you didn't have any hand in what kind of skin or facial structure was applied to the models.

So when Connor stepped out on the blue button down and jeans you couldn't help blushing a bit as he finished buttoning his shirt up. Whoever was in charge of his physical design deserved to be fired, rehired and given a promotion. You cursed yourself for thinking of what was equivalent to a toaster to be attractive. A damn Ken doll.

"Do you like them?" you asked.

Connor thought for a moment, staring at itself in the hall mirror, "They are a nice change from the CyberLife uniform."

"I was worried they wouldn't fit, but you clean up pretty good when you're not covered in blood," you joked and motioned for it to sit next to you.

You crossed your legs on the cushion and stared at it through your fingers, "What am I going to do with you?"

"I would suggest that I stay in doors for the time being, but once we know we have evaded CyberLife, I will be able to resume my mission hunting deviants," Connor replied a bit to enthusiastically.

You smiled, "You know what a rhetorical question is, right?"

Connor stared straight ahead, his LED turning yellow, "I know."

The two of you sat in somewhat uncomfortable silence for a bit, you flipping channels and Connor flicking its coin back and forth. You felt your nerves rising and Connor not feeling or not caring about the tension that was building from the silence. With a breath, you asked, "Do you still have the Zen Garden interface installed?"

"Yes, but Amanda and I have not spoken since the android uprising," it caught the coin vertically between its index and middle finger. "I don't think she would be pleased about my current situation. It was her after all that informed me about my decommissioning."

You felt a small shiver run down your spine. Amanda was the most advanced AI that Kamski had designed and it had yet to be topped by anyone from CyberLife and it idea that she was constantly watching you through Connor made the whole having an android in your home thing way more uncomfortable. She had been included in all of the RK series after the 400 and had been the mediator to make sure they stayed on task. So far she had never failed in her task. That was until Connor. She must be positively fuming in that virtual haven.

"Do you think we should keep her installed? I mean, if you ever did get back in the hands of CyberLife, she would ensure your destruction," you worried at the corner of the couch cushion. _And she would probably make sure I was wiped off the face of the map for kidnapping her golden boy_.

"I would not be able to delete it without administrator approval from two different sources, but I doubt that there would be many at CyberLife willing to help you." That was true, but that didn't mean it would be a bad idea to get that bitch out of its head, even if it meant paying someone off.

The awkward silence returned, this time without the television accompaniment. The only noise was the gentle ting ting of Connor's coin between its fingers. You found yourself watching, captivated by the delicate hand movements and the impossibility of the tricks that it preformed.

"You know, you don't have to stay here because of me," Connor's voice broke the silence this time, forcing you to rip your eyes from its hands to its face. "I am able to entertain myself if need be."

It was true that you had originally planned to run some errands and maybe go out tonight, but then you let this into your home. Not that you didn't think Connor couldn't take care of itself, but the idea of leaving a stranger, human or robot, alone in your house for more than an hour or so was unnerving. If something happened, you would probably be twenty minutes away. Having taken some sort of responsibility for the android didn't help you feel any better about leaving. So insead, you lied, "No, no I was planning on staying in today anyway." Lying to the detective android, not your best play, but Connor dropped the issue all the same.

The rest of the day passed without a hitch. It mostly consisted of you doing your best to relax, switching from remedial task to remedial task, and trying to ignore the android snooping around your apartment. You almost told it to knock it off, but figured it was better to let it act out its base programming. Who knew when it would get another chance to do so.

When you finally put your book down and made some dinner of leftover mac and cheese, you found Connor sitting across from you at the dining table. He didn't say anything, just stopped looking about and sat down, hands flat in front of him.

You slowly chewed the mouthful of pasta and swallowed even slower, "Am I going to be interrogated?"

"No," he removed his hands from the table, "I thought you might like some company for your meal."

You snorted in response, "Most of the time the other person is also eating."

"Traditionally, but it's a good thing I'm not a person," Connor responded, a bit to much snark lacing his voice, "I noticed that you like reading. What books do you like?"

You squinted at him as spoon full of macaroni dropped back into the bowl, "I read a lot of older fantasy stuff. Gaiman, Pratchett and Tolkien."

Connor's LED spun for a moment as he did a quick search, "Have you read anything by Marie Phillips? I see that she has a similar style to those authors."

"No, but I'll add her to the list," you smirked as the social program went to work with trying to sort out what you were like. "You should read some of their books, not just look them up."

"Maybe I will do that; it seems that I will have too much free time in the coming days," he smiled. But it wasn't a real smile, more like a programmed response to put someone at ease, stretching his face a bit to far. "Do you have any pets? I didn't see any animal hair around the apartment."

Your brain did a one eighty as the conversation suddenly jumped topics, forcing you to struggle to find your words, "I did. I had a dog, but this place doesn't allow pets, so my mom has her."

Connors face instantly lit up, "What's your dog's name?"

"Cricket. Um, here," you began flipping through your phone until you found a picture of an overly excited looking corgi with a green bandana tied around her neck and bright pink tongue lolling out. "This is her." Connor didn't full on smile, but the slight upturn of his lips made your heart warm.

"She looks energetic."

You took the phone back and put your empty bowl in the sink, "That's a word for her."

Connor followed you into the kitchen, "Would you like some help cleaning up?"

"It's just one bowl."

"Yes but I am here to help," it nudged you out of the way.

"Are you bored or something?" none the less, you let it take over.

"No," it paused, brow furrowed as if you had asked it a deep philosophical question. It seemed lost as it returned to the home it had made on your couch.

"Connor are you okay?" Its LED blinked.

"O-of course. I'm fine." It shook its head, trying to clear it.

"'Fine' and 'okay' are different things in my book." Connor didn't respond, instead curling its fingers into the fabric of its pants. You let off a groan. "Look, I'm not CyberLife, I just work for them. Right now you're stuck with me so if you want to talk-"

"Can I ask you a personal question?" it cut you off.

"Um sure, shoot," you shrugged.

"Why would you help me?" you opened your mouth to reply, "And please don't dodged the question." There was a moment of silence as you tried to explain the reason to yourself. You gripped the back of the couch so hard your knuckles started turning white. You nearly jumped when he spoke again, "Are you alright? Your heart rate has increased and I am detecting a rise in adrenaline." He had turned half around, resting his arm over the back of the couch. Connors hand had found respite on your wrist, fingers resting on your pulse.

You drew your hand back, "I-I'm okay." Eyes glued to the floor, your chest tightened up, "The truth is... I don't know why I helped you. I thought that I did it for myself but I don't know anymore."

Slowly, you met his brown eyes a look of concern plastered on his perfectly sculpted face. "I didn't mean to cause you any stress. Please forget I said anything."

You spent the rest of night in your room after that.


	6. Chapter 6

2nd chapter for today!

* * *

Sunday started out much the same as Saturday. You found yourself speaking to Connor less but you didn't think you were avoiding it, not really. You blamed it on the inevitable confrontation with that was coming the next day and not the discussion from last night.

Connor either didn't take note or didn't care to ask about your silence. Instead he opted for gazing out the window, apparently deep in thought. You had spent most of your free time looking up ideas online but trying to not say anything about how to hide an android in plain sight in case CyberLife combed through your internet history.

"I apologize again for upsetting you last night," you hadn't even noticed Connor sit down next to you.

"Connor for the love of-" you jumped a bit in your seat. "Ugh, just stop with the social protocol thing. Your not here to be my friend, your just an android that doesn't have a purpose."

It snapped its mouth shut, wringing its hands in its lap. "You gave me another purpose, to talk-"

"I gave you another executive order to get you out of CyberLife. I-I... I don't know," your tablet nearly slipped from your lap, only to be rescued by Connor.

"I don't want my presence to cause you this much stress," he set down the tablet, "Perhaps it would be better if I returned to CyberLife."

You pulled your knees to your chest. "Perhaps... but I don't want you to do that."

Mimicking his action from yesterday, Connor gently wrapped his fingers around your wrist, "I know that you were very proud of designing me and you made a very... emotional decision to help me, but I do not want to be a burden."

You could tell he was trying to catch your eye, gazing intently at you with those dark brown eyes but you kept your gaze firmly fixed on his grip of your wrist. "I think I need to get some air."

His head bounced up and down in a series of small nods. "I understand."

"And you should come with me."

Connor protested only a moment before changing into something that looked considerably more casual. Jeans and a wool jacket that you had purchased the day before. You gave him a dark beanie to cover his LED. "Androids still haven't really been brought back since the whole uprising thing..." It nodded and pulled the cap over the light.

You smiled at your fashion sense, "You really look like a human like that."

"Do you think it's wise to go out? Don't you think CyberLife will be looking for me?" it asked, buttoning the jacket.

You sighed, "I mean maybe? But I doubt their strategy is to search all of Detroit door to door." you pulled on your own coat, "We'll probably be fine. I just want to get out of the apartment for a bit."

Connor looked unsure, raising one side of its mouth, ready to protest again. You interlaced your fingers with his. "We're just a normal human couple out for a stroll on Sunday. Nothing more. If you don't act weird I'm sure no one will ask questions."

"I believe you underestimate my ability to act completely normal in human situations," he flashed a small smile as the two of you made your way to the street.

You scoffed, "You were programed to go undercover weren't you? Just pretend you're doing that."

The park wasn't far from your apartment so you opted not to call a cab, instead enjoying the crisp air on your skin and the sight of your cold breath. You kept your fingers interlocked with Connor's, whose eyes were carefully analyzing each person that you passed on the street. Its body language tried to remain casual, but each movement seemed to be over calculate. "May I ask where are we heading?"

"Park down at the corner," you replied, unconsciously tracing circles on the back of his hand. "Don't worry, we won't stay long. I just needed to get out and I think you did too."

"I was alright," it said defensively. "... But thank you for inviting me."

A smile touched your face, "Then calm down. No one here is looking for you, okay?" It shot you a sideways glance, but its movements seemed to become less forced.

The park was normally a lush green sanctuary in spring and summer, but in winter, the greenery had been replaced with grey and frost. The branching trees were now caked in a white ice and the heavy clouds hung low, mixing with the car exhaust to form a mist that filled the air. A few other people who also seemed to be enjoying the cold, moved through the park.

You linked your arm with Connor's and pulled him closer, a chill of cold air rushing through your coat.

"Are you cold?"

You shook your head and lead him up along a bridge that overlooked a frozen pond. "I don't mind the cold." You released him and leaned against the railing, the cool stone slicing through your clothes. Connor mirrored your action, eyes wandering over the horizon of skyscrapers in the distance.

"It's nice to get away, even if it's just a block from the apartment," you sighed, smiling a bit. Connor's LED wasn't visible, but you were sure it was probably yellow. "This is probably the only time you've ever relaxed, huh?"

"Androids don't need to relax," Connor explained, "It's one of the advantages we have."

You found your hand on his again, "Sometimes you just need to stop and smell the roses Connor. Take some time for you. To many people are just rushing this way and that that they never take the opportunity to see what is right in front of them."

"You mean the pollution and frozen trees?"

You playfully smacked his arm, "Just let me enjoy this okay? I might be in jail tomorrow."

The two of you stood on that bridge for you don't know how long, but by the time you moved, you could feel your toes getting numb. "We should head back." Connor finally said, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"Not getting cold are you?" you smirked, but followed it to the entrance of the park. From the walk to the park, Connor had visibly become less stiff, instead opting to look straight ahead of him.

You had taken to humming a tune when Connor spun around and slammed your already frozen back into a frost covered tree. You let out a gasp only to be met with cold fingers clasped over your mouth. His other arm rested on the tree behind you, effectively shielding you from the outside world. Being so close to an android should have been the same as being close to a roomba or a fridge, and yet, you felt your heart rate quicken. Slowly, you raised your eyes to meet his. Connors face was hard again, all sense of relaxation from before had vanished.

"That man to the right is part of the DPD," he whispered, lips nearly brushing your ear. "If he recognizes me..."

He removed his had from your mouth, and you glanced between his arm and torso. The man was in his mid thirties, dark brown hair, stubble covering his chin. He seemed to pay no attention to the two of you as he walked past. "He's going into the park," you muttered. "I don't think he saw us."

Connor did one quick glance over his shoulder and lowered his arm, "I didn't mean to frighten you." He took you hand in his and began walking at breakneck speed out of the park. You were grateful for the cool air freezing and Connor being to preoccupied with the close encounter of DPD officer because you were sure you were blushing.

Connor didn't release you until you were both standing in your living room with the door locked. "Who was that?"

"An officer that I worked with at the DPD," the two of you stripped out of the now frozen jackets. "He was difficult to work with. I'm certain if he would have spotted us that he would have turned us over."

You gritted your teeth, "I'm sorry. I figured that changes would be one in a million of us getting spotted."

"It was closer to 10,864 to one," it reported. A scowl creased your face. "But technically we were not spotted." Not answering, you began to heat up the kettle for something warm to drink.

"Are you feeling better?" Connor asked, hanging up the coats.

Nodding, you poured a cup of tea, "Yeah, I just think I was going a bit stir crazy. Or something." Wrapping up in a blanket, you plopped down on the couch.

Connor sat next to you, hands folded in his lap. You had taken to scrolling through your tablet, leaning between Connor and the arm of the couch when you noticed that Connor had become considerably warmer to the touch. Flatly you asked, "Are you running a fever or overheating?"

"My sensors indicated that you were still cold from our walk earlier. I raised my body temperature a few degrees to help you warm up," he explained, "Is it bothering you?"

Pulling his arm over your shoulder you said, "No. Not at all," and went back to your tablet, curling closer to the CyberLife RK800 heating blanket.


End file.
